It’s FRIDAY!!!  Oh wait.  It’s not.  But I don’t have to go to work tomorrow so that makes it FEEL like Friday!  And that, my friends, makes me really really happy.

First up, please don’t forget to hop on over to this post and give me all of your name ideas for my store!  We’ve received a ton of fabulous ideas but want to make sure everyone submits their names before we pick.  And don’t forget there is a bar of Hand in Hand soap in it for whoever comes up with the best name!

And because it feels like Friday, I am going show you some of my favorite pins from the past couple weeks.

First up, this part of someone’s home (or maybe it’s just a staged closet for a photoshoot…I of course haven’t clicked through the pin to the actual site yet…).  I mostly pinned this for the colors.  I love them.  I’m thinking I want to do a fuschia and gold in addition to my black and white for my bedroom.

Thoughts?

Next up, this whole ensemble.  I don’t even need to say anything about it…it’s just amazing.  Yep.

And next, these eggs.  Seriously how funny are they??  My roommate and I are hosting Easter this year and it would be pretty funny to have these randomly around the house for when everyone showed up.  I doubt it will happen because this requires planning and I typically fail in the planning department so we’ll just pretend I did them and I dropped them and they all broke.  Sound good?

And lastly, this quote.  It is so true! Don’t forget to be true to yourself.

With that, have a fabulous day and don’t forget to send us your name ideas!!  I need all the help I can get! 

It’s that season.  You know the one.  The one where everyone and their mother is getting engaged and announcing they’re pregnant.  (Ok, maybe not everyone’s mother but you know what I mean.)  Maybe it’s just a MN thing but in spring there is a huge spike of people who are announcing they’re expecting a baby or getting married (people just don’t have anything else better to do in the winter than plan big life events…)

Katie seems to be mostly done with the wedding phase of her life but is full force of friends having/adopting babies.  I seem to be in the middle of both – one of my dearest friends from college just asked me to be in her wedding and I currently have 5 friends who are pregnant.

For those of you in the wedding phase of your life you’re in luck.  Today we’re featuring a fabulous new wedding invite company that is local to Minneapolis.  Meet Gary and Angela.

For those of you who have been around Paisley Print Shoes long enough you know that I am in the process of starting my own store.  (If you’re new to PPS and have no idea what I’m talk about check out this post.)  I took January and February off  from really working it since I had my Europe trip and I moved…and then I inadvertently took March off while I was at it.  I am finally back at it.  I have  spring kickoff show scheduled, some fabulous new products and I’m ready to Make a Difference!

The one problem is the name.

Right now we are calling it Paisley Print Shoes The Store.  We already have the branding and everything for PPS and we have followers and people who recognize the name Paisley Print Shoes.  But it doesn’t necessarily encompass the vision of the store (which is basically to have a store that everything in it is Making A Difference in the world…and I don’t sell shoes ).

This is where you guys come in.

So many of our readers are creative geniuses and have their own etsy shop, photography business or card company.  I know at some point you were exactly where I am….trying to figure out a name.  Maybe you think Paisley Print Shoes works.  Maybe you have a grand idea of what it should be.  Maybe you have a few ideas you think are mediocre but maybe I’ll think they’re fabulous.

Any and all suggestions, ideas, and comments are welcome and much much appreciated!

BUT WAIT there’s INCENTIVE!!!!

If I pick the name you suggested I will send you a bar of Hand in Hand soap for being the winner!!  I’m kind of obsessed with this soap.  If you’re an Anthropologie shopper there is a good chance you have seen it there.  If not, let me tell you, it smells absolutely amazing and bonus- it is making a difference in the world!

It is ethically harvested from sustainable resources made up of 100% natural ingredients. It is triple milled Shea butter soap that is sure to be soothing to your skin and senses, gentle on our environment, and a beautiful compliment to your home.  For every bar purchased, Hand in Hand will donate a bar to help save a child’s life. Buy a bar, give a bar.  For every bar purchased, Hand in Hand will save 50 square feet of rainforest.

So get those creative juices flowing and comment (or email us at paisleyprintshoes@gmail.com) with your suggestions!!  Be sure to pass this on to all of your creative friends as well…if someone you sent our way wins you may just win some soap as well. 

WOW EVERYONE!

Thanks so much for all the encouragement on yesterday’s post!!  I am excited (well, that might be stretching it) to try this 5k and see what I can do.  The following exchange happened on twitter and it got us thinking:

Anyone else running any races this summer?

Want to start an online running club?

Ok, well, it wouldn’t really be an online running club, but more or less we intentionally encourage each other in regards to whatever level of race we are trying to do.

If you have been following us for any amount of time, we sincerely hope that you know that we LOVE to encourage other people.  We think it is something God has just put in our hearts to do!  It brings us (and we think, Him!) such joy.  And since you are all people we connect with, it would be so much fun to encourage YOU!  Here’s our thought – if you are a blogger (or non blogger!), and you are running or walking some sort of race this summer, we would LOVE to figure out a way that we can all connect.  If this is something you are interested in, leave a comment or zip us an email at paisleyprintshoes@gmail.com  Jen and I would love to figure out a way to keep each other updated!  (it might just be a sidebar thing we can all use, or a day we all “check in,” or a twitter hashtag thingee or SOMETHING.  Ideas welcome.)

{image from Amen Printables on Etsy}

So there you have it.  Jen and I need encouragement too!  Jen is trying to qualify for the Boston Marathon this year.  She can definitley attain it, but not without some work!  And if I can run an entire 5k it will be nothing short of a miracle (I literally cannot run 2 blocks).  We will be checking in periodically on the blog to let you know where we are at with things.  Don’t worry, it won’t be a fitness blog.    Just our usual mish mash of things we both love – or, in this case, things we are both doing, cuz I don’t love running.  Ha!

So let us know if you are interested in connecting with us!  We’d love to hear from you.

It’s Tuesday.  Let’s talk about running for a minute.

If you know us and our blog, you know we are polar opposites in most things.  Running is one of those things.  If you remember, I did a full last January and my 8th half last June.  Katie never runs but she is always our faithful fan.  That girl sacrifices hours of sleep to get up at the crack of dawn to cheer us on for the whole 30 seconds we see her as we run past.  That’s dedication.

So clearly, I like to run.

And Katie does not.

My total race count is 1 full marathon, 8 half marathons and about a million races between 1 and 8 miles (I know, I’m so specific aren’t I).  This is me finishing my first full (in case you didn’t click the link above).

I don’t think Katie has ever run a race (besides a year in track but she hated it).

Well people, it’s a big year…that’s right folks, KATIE IS RUNNING A 5K!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  (That is 3.1 miles for you non-runners.)

We are all so proud of Katie for even thinking about running much less signing up for an actual race.
This is kind of a big deal for our family.

Every year we all trek up to Duluth for Grandma’s half marathon.  My parents and I do it ever year and we’ve since recruited our cousin Emily to join in on the fun.  Every year we finish and everyone always says how much they would love to eventually run a race.

Everyone that is, except Katie.

She very proudly states that she hates running (nevermind the fact that she is at the finish line of a marathon where she is surrounded by hundreds of runners – lucky for her they all can barely move from finishing their respective races) and she will never be caught dead running.

But this year Katie is pulling it together and running a 5k.  She’s being joined by my roommate, our aunt and uncle, our cousin and her boyfriend and her husband.  I’m telling you people – this is a big event.  Go big or go home. 

So we want to know.  Are any of our faithful readers runners?  Or non-runners who maybe someday might possibly want to run a race?  Or do you despise running with a passion?  Any of the above are cool with us.

And second, do you want to hear of our training progress?  You can get the viewpoint of a new-to-running runner training for her first 5k and a sort-of-seasoned runner training for a marathon.

So, seriously, what’s do you think?  No for real.  Tell us what you are think.  We are being serious.  Comment and let us know. 

I am a member of the Everywhere Society. Everywhere provided me with compensation however all thoughts and opinions expressed herein are my own.

This summer I have my 10 year reunion.  Yep. 10.  Scary.  Because of this fantastic milestone it is perfect that Katie got us an in for a prom fashion show hosted by Macy’s!

I asked a few of the high school girls that I mentor from my church if they wanted to go and decided to hit it up.  What girl doesn’t like to try on pretty dresses and get their hair and makeup done for free?  (Well, Katie clearly doesn’t since she didn’t go…)

I got to the fashion show and unfortunately, all of us bloggers were told the wrong time.  (Cue the sad music.)  Lame.  I totally missed the whole show!

Luckily though, the Macy’s girls who were in charge of the event (they weren’t the ones who told us the wrong time) were fabulous.  They brought me over to meet Mandi Line who styles for Pretty Little Liars.  Pretty much my dream job.

She was so cool!  Super down to earth and really nice.  We chatted for a bit and then I decided to get my hair done.  I had a date later on that night so the stylist promised to make me look hot.

I think she did a pretty darn good job.  (Minnesota people – she’s from Jon English Salon in Uptown…Trinity is her name. Look her up.)

I also got my eyes done up.  I wish I had my own stylist and makeup artists to do me up every day.  Wouldn’t that be so great?  (This is not me…thi is our friend Kelly from Muddy Flowers.)

While all this was going on I jammed out to a DJ and scoped out the dresses.

There were some pretty ones and some pretty scandalous ones.  Do dads seriously let their daughters out in dresses like this??  It looks like they forgot half the fabric like this one.

I found a feathery one that I loved.  One of the girls I was with said it looked like a chicken.  Chicken or not, I loved it.

What do you think??  (This dress is down to my knees but you can’t really see that in this picture..)  You also can’t really tell how fabulous my hair and makeup are but trust me – they’re totally glam (my date even told me I looked really good….don’t worry, I didn’t wear the dress).

If you have a daughter or friend who is going to prom I highly recommend this event.  What a fun way to get your prom dress and a few ideas for your hair and makeup (not to mention meet a celebratory or two).

Thanks Macy’s for the fun event!